David BendaRedding Record Searchlight
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When Tim Gibbons started work on his restaurant in west Redding, he wasn’t sure what he had gotten himself into.
But the more he worked gutting and redeveloping the space at the Sunset Marketplace shopping center, the better Gibbons, who grew up on the Central Coast and moved to Redding 30 years ago, felt about his ambitious endeavor.
Gibbons’ hard work will come full circle within the next two weeks when he opens Whiskeytown Barbecue Co. His daughter, Myranda Gibbons, is his business partner.
Whiskeytown is one of two new barbecue restaurants that greet greater Redding this month.
Last Thursday, Joe Sells opened Smokin’ Joe’s BBQ 2.0 in the city of Shasta Lake inside the former Arnold’s BBQ on Cascade Boulevard.
Sells, who opened the original Smokin’ Joe’s on Airport Road seven years ago, said the second location gives him the inside seating his first location lacks. He even has plans to expand his menu to pizza and pasta at the new location.
“I’m Italian, German and Irish. I do Italian food almost as well as I do barbecue,” Sells said a day before he opened in Shasta Lake.
A Central Coast original
Located in the former Cookies & Yogurt space in Sunset Marketplace, Whiskeytown Barbecue will feature, among other menu offerings, Santa Maria tri-tip. Growing up in Santa Maria, Gibbons was introduced to the Central Coast original when he was a boy.
“A lot of salt and pepper and garlic. It’s pretty simple, nothing fancy,” Gibbons said of the recipe.
Over the years, there’s been variations to Santa Maria-style tri-tip.
“I stay true to what it is, to when I was introduced to it when I was 10 years old,” he said.
Gibbons did most of the work getting his restaurant ready. One of the walls features the front of a butcher shop made from cedar he said was milled from a tree in the Mount Shasta. The cedar planks behind the bar also come from that tree.
In addition to tri tip, the menu will feature rib-eye steak on Friday and Saturday nights and prime rib on Thursday nights. Menu mainstays will include beer chicken, linguica, gourmet burgers, salads, Bavarian beer pretzels and side dishes.
There are eight beers on tap. Tap selections will rotate, and there is a chalkboard Gibbons said where customers can jot down suggestions for beer selections. He is focusing on local breweries and breweries from Bend, Oregon, where Gibbons and his family lived for about 10 years before moving back to Redding.
Gibbons has plans to open a Whiskeytown Barbecue in Bend and in northern Idaho, where he has family.
But right now, he’s focusing on getting his Redding location up and running.
He describes his restaurant as a barbecue place with “pizzazz.”
“We’re a traditional barbecue house during the day and an upscale steakhouse in the evening,” Gibbons said.
Finally, the right spot
For some time, Sells, of Smokin’ Joe’s BBQ, had searched for a second location. In 2017, I “Buzz”-ed that Sells had plans to open a Smokin’ Joe’s in Anderson, but it never happened.
Sells also considered the former Anthony’s Mediterranean on Eureka Way in west Redding, but he said it would have required too much money to bring the building up to his standards.
So, when he heard Arnold’s BBQ was available, Sells went for it. He said Arnold’s closed Dec. 19 and he moved in soon after and started working toward his opening.
Sells liked the fact that the building was practically a turnkey project, and Arnold’s already had a clientele that he could take advantage of.
“I think I can build from that,” he said.
Katrina Taylor, who manages the new location, said she envisions it will be busier because it’s right off Interstate 5.
Sells said the new location will have baby-back ribs, brisket, and beef brisket burnt ends. Macaroni and cheese, jalapeno poppers, mozzarella sticks and “wing Wednesdays” also are part of the menu.
He plans to have live music outdoors on the patio starting in the spring.
“My expectations are to make great food that great people love,” Sells said.
Moseley Family Cellars downtown tasting is back serving
Two days before my vacation, I reported that Moseley Family Cellars’ new tasting room in the historic Thompson House in downtown Redding was temporarily closed.
The business on its Facebook page stated the closure was “due to complications with the ABC (California Alcoholic Beverage Control).”
The tasting room reopened while I was on vacation.
So, what happened?
In an email to the Record Searchlight, ABC spokeswoman Veronica Andrade stated:
“Moseley Family Cellars was issued an ABC license on Thursday, December 23 allowing the business to sell alcohol to the public. ABC conducted an investigation and found Moseley Family Cellars sold alcohol before their license application was approved. As a result, their liquor license was suspended for a five-day period. The Notice of Suspension was posted on December 23, 2022, allowing them to open on December 28, 2022.”
The winery didn’t immediately return a phone message seeking comment.
